You won't notice the Pentile. I can't compare it to the ST50, but it is a very good picture w/ good blacks.

Thanks.

I actually today found the 60F5300 at Best Buy, the first pentile display I've seen, and it confirmed what most everyone is saying. From 5' and closer I could definitely make out the pixel structure including the distinct red green and blue in the pixels, but from 8' and further all looked good. At 6' to 7' I wasn't sure if I was seeing anything different than looking at a non-pentile display and thought it was probably just the fact that I knew it had a pentile structure that made me doubt if I could see it a little or not. But anyway, my fears are definitely gone now as I would never want to sit closer than 9' from a 64" display.

My first reaction: Holy crap, it's huge. I'm going from a 42" 720p Panny plasma to this monster, and it's quite a difference in size. (moved into a new house, and I'm now sitting about 13' away vs. 8' before, so.... 42" wasn't going to cut it come football season!)

My second reaction: This thing is REALLY reflective. It's in the living room, and when it's turned off, it's practically a mirror. However once I turned it on, I wasn't able to see very many reflections, and only when I was looking for them. All of my blinds weren't closed either, so I think it'll be fine in my room.

I messed around with the menus a little bit. I noticed that there's no calibration thread on AVS -- has anyone done anything yet? I'm not sure what most of the settings are. :/

I should probably read up on the burn-in thread to figure out how to avoid that too. I never did anything special with my 42" plasma, but I feel like I should be a little more careful with this set since it's probably going to be the last plasma I buy...

Update: After using the TV over the last 3 days, I'm really glad I bought it. The reflections aren't as bad as I originally thought -- once you stop looking for them, anyway.

I still have to figure out how to calibrate - I'll review this thread from start to finish again to see what I should be doing, but right out of the box the picture looks pretty good so it's not a pressing need yet.

Update: After using the TV over the last 3 days, I'm really glad I bought it. The reflections aren't as bad as I originally thought -- once you stop looking for them, anyway.

I still have to figure out how to calibrate - I'll review this thread from start to finish again to see what I should be doing, but right out of the box the picture looks pretty good so it's not a pressing need yet.

There isn't much out there on calibrating this set. There is only one place I have found posted settings from someone who used calibration equipment. Enthusiasts must be staying far away from this one.

djsketchie posted this earlier in the thread. Its the only posted settings I have found.

There isn't much out there on calibrating this set. There is only one place I have found posted settings from someone who used calibration equipment. Enthusiasts must be staying far away from this one.

Yeah, I don't understand why though. It's definitely a very good set. People hear "pentile" and just turn their noses up at it for no real reason. A shame.

You are better off changing your gamma, you do understand that brightness controls black level not light output ? You manipulate that with contrast/cell light control

I really don't know much at all about calibration settings other than digging through these forums. I don't ever plan to post my settings as a suggestion to anyone.
I am a noob w/ an addiction to this forum and my new plasma.
I just noticed for the first time that during a dark scene there wasn't much definition between the dark part of the room and a dark jacket. It was pretty much all blended together. I'll try playing w/ the gamma and contrast/cell light in that scene.
Note: I already have cell light at 19 out of 20.

I really don't know much at all about calibration settings other than digging through these forums. I don't ever plan to post my settings as a suggestion to anyone.
I am a noob w/ an addiction to this forum and my new plasma.
I just noticed for the first time that during a dark scene there wasn't much definition between the dark part of the room and a dark jacket. It was pretty much all blended together. I'll try playing w/ the gamma and contrast/cell light in that scene.
Note: I already have cell light at 19 out of 20.

No problem the gamma curve has an effect on how quick things come out of black(shadow detail)

Brightness should be set so that you don't clip reference black(usually level 17 barely visible on a pluge pattern). If I recall correctly that is usually in the mid to upper 40s of Samsungs. The gamma preset would be higher yes but actual gamma would go lower for example 2.1 as opposed to 2.2.

Brightness should be set so that you don't clip reference black(usually level 17 barely visible on a pluge pattern). If I recall correctly that is usually in the mid to upper 40s of Samsungs. The gamma preset would be higher yes but actual gamma would go lower for example 2.1 as opposed to 2.2.

That sounds correct. I have the HD Basics calibration disc, and on the plunge pattern 47-49 seems to be the right brightness setting. The only thing I'm not sure of is if we are supposed to see the difference between 0% black and below black. The see a slight difference I need to set the brightness about 51-52 but I can notice that the black level is raised.

Brightness should be set so that you don't clip reference black(usually level 17 barely visible on a pluge pattern). If I recall correctly that is usually in the mid to upper 40s of Samsungs. The gamma preset would be higher yes but actual gamma would go lower for example 2.1 as opposed to 2.2.

yup, sounds right to me. my f8500 has the brightness set at 42 right now, and I don't generally ever see it above 45 that I can remember. the only hitch here is making sure you have the hdmi setting correct. I always forget which is which, but I believe if you input a standard 16-235 video signal it automatically greys out the full-range option. so it 'should' be the correct setting as long as you aren't using a PC

I would also suggest to put the cell light up to 20, and contrast at 95. those seem to be settings that were 'designed' into the Samsung TV's. lowering the cell light actually changes the ABL behaviour, not the peak brightness(until you get way down to like 11-12). changing the contrast shifts the greyscale, which could also negatively affect your calibration.

so:
-brightness adjust with a pattern, likely to come out between 40-45
-contrast at 95
-cell light at 20
-if you want to see more detail in the shadows, move the gamma from 0 to +1 or higher as necessary. I've heard +1 is the best default setting for the f8500, for whatever that's worth

That sounds correct. I have the HD Basics calibration disc, and on the plunge pattern 47-49 seems to be the right brightness setting. The only thing I'm not sure of is if we are supposed to see the difference between 0% black and below black. The see a slight difference I need to set the brightness about 51-52 but I can notice that the black level is raised.

Can anyone else chime in on this?

you definitely should not be able to see '16' from 'below black'
but I find if I set it so that I can see '17' a lot of content ends up looking washed out. so I have mine set so that '17' is 'black', this way nearly all my content looks good. I may be crushing some black detail on the stuff that's been mastered well, but it hasn't bothered me nearly as much as trying to watch stuff that's been done poorly with a raised black level

It's too bad there aren't any real calibration settings out there for this TV. This is like the last affordable big screen plasma, guess folks just don't find this TV worth it over a 60" F5300. Anyways, I'm looking to grab one soon(maybe wait on another Fry's sale). Hopefully someone can post calibration settings soon.

You would think w/ all of the calibrators out there that someone would want to play around w/ this tv. Maybe posting settings is bad for business
The only post w/ professional equipment has the brightness at 45, but the gamma at -1? The person in this post used the picture mode: Cinema, but i don't even think Cinema exists in mine. The only picture modes I see are dynamic, movie, and standard. Does it even matter once you change the settings?

It's too bad there aren't any real calibration settings out there for this TV. This is like the last affordable big screen plasma, guess folks just don't find this TV worth it over a 60" F5300. Anyways, I'm looking to grab one soon(maybe wait on another Fry's sale). Hopefully someone can post calibration settings soon.

I think Fry's will have one on Friday. Usually when they have it listed at full MSRP (which nobody would ever buy at that price) they have it on sale the next week. Take a look Friday, and maybe they will have a glitch again showing it w/ free shipping. Last time they changed it a day later to store pickup only. If you have prime, call amazon right away and get a price match. 2% cash back w/ Amazon.

You would think w/ all of the calibrators out there that someone would want to play around w/ this tv. Maybe posting settings is bad for business
The only post w/ professional equipment has the brightness at 45, but the gamma at -1? The person in this post used the picture mode: Cinema, but i don't even think Cinema exists in mine. The only picture modes I see are dynamic, movie, and standard. Does it even matter once you change the settings?

I think Fry's will have one on Friday. Usually when they have it listed at full MSRP (which nobody would ever buy at that price) they have it on sale the next week. Take a look Friday, and maybe they will have a glitch again showing it w/ free shipping. Last time they changed it a day later to store pickup only. If you have prime, call amazon right away and get a price match. 2% cash back w/ Amazon.

It's actually been full MSRP for a couple of weeks now. I've been checking it non-stop (to buy it myself, and now to price match it with Amazon since I already ordered it).

It's actually been full MSRP for a couple of weeks now. I've been checking it non-stop (to buy it myself, and now to price match it with Amazon since I already ordered it).

You get 14 days from day of delivery. I purposely had mine setup for Friday delivery knowing that their sale changes every Fri. Got them to price match the day I bought it for $1199, then had it delivered a week later on Fri. Check on my 14th day, and they had it again for $1099. Got Amazon to match that price too. She told me it was the last time they could price match it, but it was already 14 days so I didn't really have any more time anyway.
I can't imagine Fry's will have it another week like that, but who knows, they are pretty random over there.

You get 14 days from day of delivery. I purposely had mine setup for Friday delivery knowing that their sale changes every Fri. Got them to price match the day I bought it for $1199, then had it delivered a week later on Fri. Check on my 14th day, and they had it again for $1099. Got Amazon to match that price too. She told me it was the last time they could price match it, but it was already 14 days so I didn't really have any more time anyway.
I can't imagine Fry's will have it another week like that, but who knows, they are pretty random over there.

I should of bit when it was $1099, ughh. Here's to hoping it goes back down to that, or even lower, $999 might not be that far of a stretch .

I received my H5000 from Amazon and got it set up yesterday. I tweaked the settings a bit then popped in The Avengers bluray and the picture is amazing ! I don't think for the money you will find a better deal on a 64" tv with this kind of picture quality. So far I am very pleased

Called Frys and my local store has an in-store price of $1097, but they're out of stock. Next Fry's store closest to me has 1 in stock, but it's an hour and a half away. Anybody have luck getting a rain check from Frys?

Called Frys and my local store has an in-store price of $1097, but they're out of stock. Next Fry's store closest to me has 1 in stock, but it's an hour and a half away. Anybody have luck getting a rain check from Frys?

Purchase it online and select the store that has stock. Fry's basically works like this, if you choose in store pick up you're basically putting the item on hold bc you're not paying for it until you actually pick it up from the store. So you'll still get the in store price even tho technically the tv is $2099 on the website.

Just wait for the order is ready for pick up email(store confirms within 20 mins for product availability) and you're set.

I received my H5000 from Amazon and got it set up yesterday. I tweaked the settings a bit then popped in The Avengers bluray and the picture is amazing ! I don't think for the money you will find a better deal on a 64" tv with this kind of picture quality. So far I am very pleased